Great Minds

We all can experience greatness. What makes a difference is whether or not we use
the full capability of our mind.

My Nephews Story
I am reminded of one of my nephews who now works full time at a
grocery store as a clerk. This was a young man who had a very sharp mind,
did extraordinarily well in high school with never a failing grade or even marks
below a 'B' average. He started to go to college but dropped out after a
year because he didn't like the program. So, instead of moving into something
he really wanted to do, he just quit all together. It wasn't that he wasn't smart
enough, or couldn't find the money to continue; he just stopped right in his
tracks. He certainly had the capacity but not the will.

It appeared that he no longer had a goal, or he changed his mind to accept
that all he wanted to do was to work at something less than he had capacity
for.

"Capacity is more about determination than it is about being brilliant."
Byron Pulsifer

For Others
For some, their capacity for formal education may not be as well honed or
prepared as others but they can still move beyond formal education by
participating in various types of apprenticeship programs where there is
more emphasis on doing and learning skills on the job than writing papers
or attending formal classes.

A Burning Desire
The mind can adapt to a host of differing situations if there is a burning
desire to succeed. It isn't, for most, a lack of learning ability but more
a lack of the ability to apply themselves over time. A desire to succeed has
to be married with the desire to apply one's skills, abilities and the continued
application of energy. You cannot accomplish anything of importance by
spending your time relaxing, dreaming, wishing or waiting for opportunity to
come rolling along. Opportunity is there but it scares a lot of people because
it is cloaked in work.

The capacity to use one's mind to do better and to develop a career was
recently witnessed when I got to meet a young man who had spent several
years involved with drugs. This young man decided that his life was going
nowhere and that he needed help to overcome his addiction. He not only
succeeded in beating his addiction but also was able to easily turn his mind
to undertake and pass exams for a journeyman in the plumbing trade.
A mind wasted is like walking by a diamond lying on the street; there is no
value unless it is used.

"Great minds are those that are released from doing mundane things."
Byron Pulsifer

Mundane Things
Those mundane things can be those things that occupy a person's
mind that never accomplish a thing. We all know what they are for we
have all been guilty at one time or another of watching TV when we
should have been focusing on finishing a project, or studying, or writing
that business proposal or marketing material. We have watched sports,
we have gone swimming, or skiing, or puttering around the house doing
things that are totally unnecessary.

As Washington Irving once said, "Great minds have purposes,
others have wishes."

Do You Have A Purpose or A Wish
Those who have a "purpose" are active in setting goals and constantly working towards them.
Those who simply "wish", have no specific goals for themselves; they just go day to day allowing someone else to set their direction. Wishing for something occupies the mind but leaves the bank empty.
Use your "great mind", and set goals to achieve your purpose.

What Wishing Accomplishes
Wishing is just as ineffective as worrying - neither accomplishes anything.
Next time you find yourself wishing for something, remind yourself that a wish and a hope
won't move you forward, but setting goals and taking action will!